


by your side

by gardenjays



Series: candy and comic books [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, plot insert, some brief mentions of physical injury but nothing bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardenjays/pseuds/gardenjays
Summary: “So. In general, I guess. How are you feeling?” Jay asked again.“I don’t really know. Small.”“Small?”Lloyd nodded before sitting up again and rubbing his head. “I…I feel like a little kid again. I’m scared.”***aka Jay and Lloyd are super supportive of each other after a very long day on the dark island (somewhere between episodes 25 and 26)
Relationships: Lloyd Garmadon & Jay Walker
Series: candy and comic books [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760353
Kudos: 47





	by your side

**Author's Note:**

> hello, it's been a minute but I'm still here with some old fics I found in my archives and decided to dust off and actually post. you can pry season 2 from my cold dead hands. I'm an old fan and I started watching the show about halfway through season 2, just before the arc with the overlord and the stone army, so as you can imagine, the second half of s2 is very important to me.
> 
> anyway I will shut up and let you read now! pls enjoy another little plot insert of the Best Boys

The sun was just starting to come up after what felt like forever. And as the light began to flood over them and reflect over the water and the sand, they saw why it had taken so long. Where there had once been a beautiful expanse of green that was the island of Ninjago, now there was a giant dark gloomy cloud that lurked over almost the entire horizon between them and the sunrise. Everyone was too exhausted to say anything about it, but a sickening feeling seemed to blanket the beach as they all felt the same horrifying realization. Under that cloud was their home, their families, everything they’d left behind and everything they had come here to save.

As the sun continued to climb into the sky, they began to get up and move around a little, stretching their sore limbs and trying to feel a little more comfortable in their tattered clothes. And still no one said a word. After pacing back and forth a few times along the water’s edge, Kai started picking up stones that he found in the sand, trying to skip them along the water but never making it past a few bounces. Every once in a while he would growl at them and just throw one in as if getting angry would help anything. Wu and Misako sat close together after Lloyd woke up, sometimes exchanging whispers, though the conversations never lasted more than a few sentences. Zane and his father sat in silence, sometimes getting up to wander a bit before sitting again exactly where they had been before. Every once in a while Cole would get up, maybe try to strike up a conversation with someone. He tried to talk to Kai but gave up on that pretty quickly. He talked a little with Jay though the few words didn’t seem to go anywhere further than a quick apology for things they might have said and done after Nya was taken. And Lloyd was pacing so much that Cole decided he was too tired to try and walk and talk, so he gave up and laid on the warm sand.

Eventually Lloyd sat down again, a good distance from the rest of the group. It was obvious he wanted to be alone, and no one blamed him. But something deep down inside made Jay nervous to see him so far away. And that something was also telling him to at least go sit with Lloyd. He sighed under his breath and got up as quietly as he could. It felt good to stand up, at least after he got used to moving a little bit. Everything still hurt from their fighting all night and the day before that, and the day before that. Jay shook his head as he started to meander toward Lloyd, keeping clear of the fuming Kai who had begun to just throw rocks again. It was hard not to muddle all the days together at this point. It felt like they hadn’t had any sleep for so long, and the light on this island changed depending on where you were, so it wasn’t like they could keep track of the days by paying attention to the sun.

Finally he sat down a few inches from Lloyd. Neither of them said a word for a long time, and the only thing they heard was the water lapping against the sand, with some cursing from Kai’s direction every once in a while, closely followed by a few loud splashes of stones being tossed.

When they did talk, it was Lloyd who spoke first. “I’m sorry about Nya,” he said in barely more than a whisper.

Just hearing her name made Jay feel sick to his stomach. He shook his head again, trying to forget the sinister beauty she’d had when she attacked, the fluidity of her motions and the sureness that they were her enemy, the glowing purple in her eyes and the lurching sharpness that he’d felt when she hit him during their fight back in the woods. His hand went down to his side where she’d hit him. “You don’t have to apologize,” he said, his voice wavering on every syllable. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Lloyd’s eyes followed Jay’s hand, and he looked worried. “Did she hurt you?”

“Just a scratch. I’ll be fine.”

“Jay.”

He looked up. It was hard to tell what Lloyd was thinking. He just looked tired, and he was definitely in need of a nice warm meal. Then again, weren’t they all? But he looked so serious, like this was a  _ don’t try to sugarcoat it because I’ll get it out of you somehow _ sort of conversation. Jay tried not to let too much emotion show. It was bad enough that everyone else had seen him cry a lot more than he would have liked in the past couple of days, he didn’t need all those feelings to rush back to him now.

Eventually Lloyd sighed and relaxed his gaze. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jay looked away, trying to look at anything but his wound. “Not particularly.”

“Then I won’t make you. But just know that you can trust me if you change your mind.”

“Thanks.” And there was silence again. In the distance they could hear movement from the others. It didn’t last long, but the two of them were pretty sure there were at least a few words exchanged. It felt a little better to know everyone else was starting to wake up a bit. Jay pulled his legs up and rested his chin on them. “How are you feeling?”

“You mean in general, or…?”

“After the fight with the Overlord. He didn’t go easy on you.”

Lloyd let out what might have probably been a short laugh. “That’s a bit of an understatement, but you’re not wrong. I guess I’m just tired is all. And sore. He really threw me around.”

“Speaking of understatements.” Jay tried his best to smile a little. Lloyd seemed to sense his unease and went silent again. There was a long pause, though it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, and Jay felt Lloyd’s head come to rest on his shoulder. “So. In general, I guess. How are you feeling?” Jay asked again.

“I don’t really know. Small.”

“Small?”

Lloyd nodded before sitting up again and rubbing his head. “I…I feel like a little kid again. When I saw my dad, it was like all these memories came rushing back, like I took for granted how much he cared for me and put me ahead of himself back then. It’s just been making me feel so helpless. He did everything he could to save me, and that’s all he’s ever done. He tried to fight the Overlord. For  _ me _ . But it should have been my turn to save  _ him _ . And I failed. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.” He took a deep breath, and Jay could tell he was trying not to cry. “I’m scared.”

A few more seconds went by before Jay reached out to put his arm around Lloyd’s shoulders. “We all are. You were right earlier. There’s no way it was supposed to end like this. There has to be more. Somehow we have to find a way back home. And we will. We don’t know what’s going to happen when we get there, but we’ll still find a way. We have to.”

“But what if I can’t do it? What if I’m not strong enough? Just because I look older doesn’t mean I have the mentality to do this. I can’t think like an adult yet. I’m trying…I just can’t.”

Jay smiled a little bit. “You think we all think like adults? You may be the youngest, but you’re not the only kid here. To be honest, sometimes you’re the most mature out of all of us. You can do it, Lloyd. We all believe in you. And you won’t be alone.”

“You’ll always be behind me?”

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know I keep saying I have no social media but I suppose if you really want, you could follow my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kv_greyeyes/) where I post a whole lot of... nothing, mostly. but when I do post, lately it's been a lot of social justice in my story and some doodles here and there. not always ninjago but hey it's social media and y'all can message me if you want!


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